Communist Party of Belgium

The Communist Party of Belgium (KPB/PCB) was a communist political party in Belgium that was active from 1921 to 1989. The party was founded following a split from the Belgian Labor Party, and it had around 500 members at its foundation. In 1925, it gained a parliamentary presence, and the party grew to have 8,500 members by 1938. During World War II, the party went underground as a result of the German occupation. The party took part in the Belgian Resistance, but, by 1943, most of the praty's leaders had been arrested by the German occupiers. In 1946-1947, the party entered a coalition government with the socialists and liberals, having obtained 25% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. In 1950, party chairman Julien Lahaut was assassinated, but the party grew to 9,890 members by the mid-1960s. In 1985, the party lost its presence in Parliament, and it split into Flanders and Wallonia branches in 1989.